For some reason, this song makes this chapter more intense^ or maybe it's just me?
Chapter 21
~ Callum's POV ~
I felt groggy and stiff as my mind woke up from a hazy nightmare. There was a throbbing pain on the back of my head that sent shards of torturous aches to my entire head.
Struggling to open my eyes, I was blinded by the harsh white light and felt my eyes well up from the impact on my pupils. I tried using my arms but they felt numb and lifeless.
Trying not to freak the fuck out, because that's what I wanted to do, I slowly let my eyes adjust to my surroundings.
Silver bars surrounded me as I realized that I was in a cage. It accommodated me enough to lay down with my knees curled up and seemed high enough for me to sit down without breaking my neck.
How thought of them.
My hands though were in handcuffs and chained to the ceiling of the cage and I had no idea how long I've been out but from the lack of blood circulations, they were dead asleep as I just was.
But it wasn't just me, they took June.
Flying up and feeling my hair getting caught through the spaces of the cage, I looked around and felt a rush of relief as I saw June curled up in a ball in a separate cage across the hall from me.
There were cages lined up on both sides of the wide hallway but as far as I can tell, we were the only ones here. Bright fluorescent lightbulbs lined the long gray concrete hallway and there were large silver doors on each end of the hallway. It reminded me of the Crypt.
The only thing I could smell besides my bodily odor was bleach and it burnt my nostrils. Not to mention my arms, back and legs were sore as hell. The most pain was coming from my head of course and I knew it was from when they hit me over the head. I much rather Everette's playful abuse.
I looked over at June at couldn't tell if she was alright but I knew for a fact that these cages and handcuffs were silver. I spent years handling bullets with the same material so I could identify it easily.
"June." I tried to keep my voice low and her head immediately shot up.
Her dress was covered in dirt and I could see bruises on her arms and legs. "Callum, you're awake."
Her eyes were wild and red as if she's been crying but her voice was worse, it was scratchy as if she's been screaming. The red blisters on her feet on arms that touched the silver was indication enough to tell me that was the cause.
"Are you alright?" I knew the answer to that was no, but I had to ask.
"Could be better." She lowered her head and tried to keep her chained up hands still as I noticed her wincing every time she moved.
"Did they... hurt you?" I hoped she knew what I was asking and her eyes welled up with tears and she didn't answer. "Shit. I'm going to kill them," I growled and her eyes snapped up.
"They haven't done anything..." She trailed off and I was confused, "yet."
"June, what do you mean 'yet'?" I questioned slowly as felt the fire brewing within me.
"One of them, he wanted to t-touch me. But when he noticed you still hadn't woken up, he said he'd wait for you to watch." Her voice broke off in desperation and pain from talking with a sore throat.
"Fucking hell." They were some sick bastards and I was going to set their asses on fire. "Do you know where we are? How long we've been here?"
She shook her head, "It's been days but I have no idea how much and I don't know where we are because they knocked me out and strapped these necklaces on us."
I noticed the string of black beads around her neck and looked down to see I sported one as well and thank god it wasn't silver because I had no idea what that would have done to June, "Do you know what it is."
"No." She croaked. "But I don't feel anything anymore. The pack and Penelope, it's as if their presence was ripped from me."
What the hell?
I grabbed the chains that connected my hands to the cuffs on the ceilings and willed my fire to melt it.
"I'm going to get us out of here," I promised her but she immediately shook her head.
"No Callum, don't." Her tone immediately made me stop, "You can't create a fire, they have kids here. I've seen them escort about twenty of them through the hall and the look of those kids... God, we can't leave them behind, especially in a burning building."
"June, we can't focus on that right now, those kids could be working for them."
"They aren't. They're being tortured or were kidnapped, I don't know but we can't leave them if we set the building on fire. Callum, they have silver, a lot of it and if we do anything, they'll kill us. I know it."
I considered what she said but there was no way I wasn't getting her out of her before those fucking rogues touched her. If that was Everette... I couldn't even finish the thought.
The anger that consumed me raged as I thought about what Ev must be going through and prayed that she didn't come after me because of the sick rogues that were here. But with June here, Penelope would come looking and with Penelope looking, Everette would be close behind.
I missed my girl so much that my heart ached at the thought of her but I don't want her to come to this place. Wherever the hell this place was.
It may be the only time I wished Finneas would hold her back and keep her at his side. For her safety. But I'm too selfish to entertain that thought for long and knew that even if I died here I wouldn't want that bastard anywhere near her.
"What are you doing?" June whisper yelled at me until I noticed that I had set the chain on fire and it caused smoke because of the high temperature.
Heavy footsteps pounded against the cement floors as the sound grew closer to us and June's eyes held pure fright and I knew I messed up.
The doors to the right of the hallway burst open and three men stepped out. Three big bulky men that looked like bears whose fish we just stole.
"You causing trouble in here Sugar?" Thing #1 addressed June as she shrunk into herself. His gaze turned to me as he smiled, showing off his decaying tooth. He was the biggest and ugliest one between the three of them and that was saying something. "Well, well, well, looks like the pretty boy has finally woken up from his beauty sleep."
My jaw clenched in anger but playing into their games wasn't what I was about.
"Compared to you three, you might as well as give me a crown for this beauty pageant. Though I must say, I doubt you would have even qualified to enter." I put on a smirk as his eyes held shock from my answer and I could tell that he was ticked off.
He growled and bent down at my cage and I noticed he had gloves on to protect him from the silver.
"You've got a lot of balls kids, but say any more dumb shit and you won't be the owner of them anymore." He chuckled.
"At least I've got a pair to loss." I shrugged and saw the anger ticking in him.
"I'll-"
"You'll what?" I cut him off with a snicker, "Kill me with your ugly ass face? Trust me, I'm already going blind."
His gloved hand grabbed my cage and rattled it, "Listen here you little human, I could crush your skull with my bare hands as I hear you beg for your weak little life."
"Considering you're all bark and no bite, I'd say you rather keep me alive. Hoping my goods and charm will rub off on you?"
"I'm going to kill you." He growled as he reached for the lock.
But one of the guards shot his hand out and glared at thing #1 in who was talking all this time.
"You know what the boss said, we keep them alive until further notice." Thing #2 reiterated.
Something unreadable passed between the two men and thing #1 raised to his full height with a sinister smile that felt like cold water was being poured all over my head.
"Fine, I won't kill him yet but this pretty girl behind us could pay for his running mouth." He turned to June as he licked his lips and watched her with sick hunger in his eyes. His hands reached down to her cage and unlocked it.
I looked at June as she scurried to the corner of her cage as horror masked her features and she whimpered from the pain of the silver cuffs and the cage, biting into her flesh.
"Don't you dare lay a single finger on her!" I snapped and the man turned back to me.
"Or else?" He asked challengingly.
Without answering him, I lit his t-shirt on fire.
It didn't last long though because thing #2 and #3 pulled out little fire extinguishers from the strap of their belts.
"Wouldn't try that again if I was you." Thing #3 grinned at me with mirth.
Thing #1 pulled off his burnt t-shirt, "Did you actually think we weren't prepared after we saw your little magic show? Look around you boy, your fire wouldn't last in here."
His eyes were on the ceiling and numerous nozzles, that looked like the ends of hoses, lined the ceilings. I may have missed those when I opened my eyes.
"Set anything on fire and we'll put you out. Try again and we'll drown you in this room." He grinned.
Fuck. How did they install those that quickly when we couldn't have been here for that long?
They knew too damn much for my liking.
Leaning closer, he lowered his voice, "Now how about we have some fun before that mate of yours come looking for you? Well, that's if she's even capable of finding the place. Leroy over here has been wanting a taste of her since he caught her scent on you, a sweet thing she is, that Alpha."
The spike in anger within me made the fire within rush through my system and blaze right beneath my skin. If I wasn't angry before, I was fucking furious enough to kill everyone in this damn place now. My eyes shifted to Leroy, aka thing #3, and I never wanted to kill someone as much as I wanted to blow his brains out with my silver bullets.
As the chains started to melted along with the lock on the cage, thing #1 tsked at me.
"Uh, uh, uh. Set one more thing on fire and I'll throw this one," he pointed behind him to June, "to the men downstairs... and they're some real dirty bastards." He smirked.
"I'm going to fucking kill you!" I yelled as the door to the cage melted in an instant along with my cuffs before any of them could put me out.
I was out of the tight space in a second as I hurdled towards the thing #1. I felt water pour down on us for a few seconds before it stopped.
"You're a sick bastard. Too damn ugly that he has to rape someone to get himself off." I threw my fist and knocked him in his jaw.
He roared at me and it reeked of pretentiousness that I would have snorted but he punched me in the jaw.
As my head swung to one side, he punched me in the stomach as I heard June gasp. Geez, I think he knocked my lungs into my throat or something as I struggle to take a breath.
"I rather enjoy the struggle of pretty little flowers." He mutters as rage blinded me and I swung up and punched the guy in the nose. As blood ran down into his mouth, covering his teeth, he grinned, "Trying to make me uglier?"
"Not sure it's possible," I growled as I tried to move forward and knock him down but thing #2 and #3 grabbed both my hands and twisted them against my back.
I struggled against their arms as I felt the pain bursting in my shoulder blades.
"That's how you're going to fight me? By letting these dogs hold me back?" I shouted.
"Oh I can take you just as easily as if they weren't here but this seems a bit more fun, don't you think?" With that, his fist connected to my right cheek and I struggled against the two men but they were stronger and way too damn big.
I summoned the fire on them which caused one of the rogue's hands loosened on me. It didn't last long as the water came pouring down as if someone was just sitting around and monitoring.
Using that to my advantage, I pulled free and spun around on both things #2 and #3. Thing #3, Leroy, the one who wanted my girl, got very intimate with my fist as I punched him the eye and then shoving my boot against his stomach until he stubbled back.
Just as I was about to get started on thing #2, the ugly #1 grabbed both my arms and bent them backward. I struggled against his burly body as thing #2 and #3 punched me again and again as I tried to set fires but I was no match for the controlled water.
Thing #3 punched my head back and I heard my nose crack and my head was pounding with intense pain. Another fist went to my gut before one of them kneed me in the dick.
Holy mother of someone, that hurt.
I felt my legs buckle as the dog holding me up released his hold and I dropped to the floor which was submerged an inch deep in water.
The water stopped falling but the rogues weren't finished. The three of them threw punches and kicks at my back and stomach as they beat the shit out of me.
Feeling and hearing bones breaking, I took it as I tried and failed to get up. I couldn't take them. I should have trained harder but that was no use now.
The only thing I could think was, at least it's not June. Not yet and hopefully not at all.
I struggled to keep myself from blacking out because of the pain as it felt like my own fire was consuming my body and the frigid water below me wasn't doing much to help. Every inch of my body felt an extensive amount of pain that I've never experienced before and I was surprised I wasn't dead yet.
"Leave him." A scruffy voice boomed out of a speaker somewhere in the hallway.
They immediately stopped and I couldn't breathe as my ribs felt shattered and my lungs burned as I struggled. My arms and legs were another situation as the burn of bruised muscles and broken bones ate at what was left of me.
"The boss is going to be so pissed." Thing #2 grumbled as two of them grabbed my arms and pulled me over to the cage beside the one I was previously held in and was currently melted.
Securing my wrists to the hanging cuffs, I felt the pain burn up the arms like liquid fire. I don't think I would have minded if Death decided to show up and whisk me away anytime soon. But I still had to keep an eye on June.
I watched as my blood stained the water around my body as they clicked my cage shut and locked June's cage back. One last time, I tried to summon the fire in me but I couldn't. Through the pain and the bashing my head took, I couldn't find it in me.
It was as if they planted an extinguisher inside of me.
"I'll be coming back for what's mine Sugar." Thing #1 winked at June who had tears flowing down her face. She cringed back in her cage as he walked back down the hallway with the other two following him.
As the door clicked shut, she turned to me, "Callum I'm so sorry."
"W-w-why?" I struggle to suck in a breath.
"Because you did that to protect me, you... you should have just left him." She sobbed and I tried to pry open my swollen eyes.
"If you actually t-think... I would have let them... even breathe on you, you're... wrong," I muttered in a broken sentence.
I coughed up some blood and between my swollen eyelids, I saw June's face pale as she looked at me.
"Callum, you..." She shook her head as if changing her mind and looking determined, "I'll get you out of here."
I felt my lips twitch up, "I believe you Juney, but right now, I have... no idea what... we could do."
"You're fire?" She asked hesitantly and I knew her minds were on the kids.
"Gone." I tried to inhale a breath.
She gasped but made no attempt to ask me anything else and I was glad because, between the pain and the lack of oxygen, I couldn't manage to say another word.
I don't know how long it had been since the three rogues beat the life out of me, but I kept blacking out as the pain pulled me in and out of consciousness. Every time I came back around, it was because I was shivering from the low temperature that turned the water and my soaked clothes cold.
My source of heat was no longer in me and I can't remember ever feeling this cold. Besides the temperature, I kept waking up to catch my breath or stop myself from falling to my side since I was sure one of my wrists was fractured and the thing to alleviate the pain was sitting up against the cage.
June always kept a watchful eye on both doors as if waiting to pounce into actions. She was a purebred werewolf, but her small frame was no match for those rogues. Especially not three of them. Her hands were still handcuffed anyways, she had bags under her eyes and I could tell the cold was starting to affect her from her trembling body.
Not to mention the fact that they haven't fed us.
The last time I went unconscious, I swear I saw Everette before me. She was smiling, laughing and hitting me upside the head for my stupid jokes and making her blush. I saw her as she was the night she addressed the pack and my heart jumped out of my chest when I saw the strong woman she was. I heard her laughter in my ears from the night I set up our first date. Her brown hair cascading down her shoulders and covering her face as she blushed. Her chocolate eyes as warm and inviting as her hugs.
At that moment, I thought I went to heaven. But of course, I would have to believe God even existed for such a magical place to be real. So I knew from my lack of belief, that it was just my imagination creating a fantasy to ease my pain. Her memory hurt me more than my wounds though because I didn't know if I would see her again.
What really told me I was dreaming though was when I heard the doors open. My eyes barely pried open as I saw June glancing at the set of doors to my left, opposite of where the big ugly men came out.
I shifted my body around as I took in five adults, two females and three males, surrounding a group of about twenty kids, out of the room.
The kids, they looked as if they've been through hell from the harsh marks on their skin and torment brewing on their faces.
Those sick fucks were torturing those kids and I wanted to burn them alive right where they stood.
They all kept their heads down as they passed our cages but it was as if I could feel them screaming at me to help as they slowly walked by.
All but one.
A little kid with blonde hair, maybe around seven, who knew. He punched one of the guards in his legs before biting him. Like full on sinking his teeth into the man's flesh.
I had a new role model.
The man howled in pain as he let out a string of curses and did something that made me want to rip his hands off. He backhanded the kid until he crashed against the door of my cage and screamed from the burn of the silver as it touched his exposed skin.
"I fucking told you, Olly, attack me again and you wouldn't like the consequences!" The man yelled as the boy stuck his tongue out at him without saying a word.
The man grabbed Olly by the back of his neck as he dragged him to the cage beside my own.
From the corner of my eye, I saw June about to scold the man but I shot her a look and discreetly shook my head for her to stop.
She glared at me but headed by words as she sat back and allowed the man to throw the boy into the cage.
"Stay there because when I get back, I'm taking you back inside the medical room and we're going to make sure it works this time." The man said through clenched teeth he held onto his healing wound and limped away with the others.
That piqued my curiosity but the kid didn't look like he was much of a talker. Wouldn't blame the kid if he didn't trust us either after those shit adults he's been with.
"Hey there," June managed a smile as she greeted the boy. "My name's June and this is Callum."
I could see the hint of fear in his eyes but as he looked at June, he seemed to calm down a bit but sat curled into one corner, far from me, trying not to touch the silver.
When he didn't answer, June went on, "I like your name, Olly. Is it short for something?"
As the silence stretched on, I managed to inhale before speaking, "I think he rather not be pestered Juney."
She frowned at me before turning back to him, "You don't have to trust us, but I promise you that we're not the bad guys here."
"What if little Olly is the bad guy?" I queried at the little boy actually rolled his eyes at me.
"I don't believe he is." June's eyes lit up, "But if you know any way out of here Olly, I promise you, we'll help you escape."
I watched Olly and he remained quiet so I decided to cut in again, "Trust me bud, she really isn't going to shut up until you tell her at least 'hi'."
"Hey!" June scolded and I saw the smallest flicker of laughter appear on Olly's face before it disappeared.
Olly took a breath and as he finally opened his mouth, the right doors opened. My eyes widened as I saw things #1, 2 and 3 walking down the hall.
Shit! This isn't good.
"Sugar, I told you I'd be back." Thing #1 grinned at June as all and any trace of a smile was gone.
"You better stay the fuck away from here." I groaned as I struggled to push myself towards the door of the cage.
He chuckled, "Sorry boy, I rather no waste my time killing you when I could be in her."
As his laughs echoed down the hallway, he unlocked June's cage and her cuffs as she started kicking and screaming.
I turned to Olly, knowing I couldn't do anything this time. The fire was nowhere within me and I was too broken to escape this cage.
"Close your eyes," I whispered to him.
Somehow, he seemed more terrified at this than when the man knocked him around earlier. Slowly, he gulped and placed his face between his knees and covered his ears with his hands.
"You're a sick bastard!" I struggled to yell at him as he dragged June out and her dress rose up to the other two's amusement. "Her mate is going to fucking kill each and every one of you!"
But no matter what I said, he wasn't stopping.
His hands did quick work of his belt as he slipped it off and threw it to the ground. My eyes held on to June's and she was yelling for me to close my eyes but I couldn't.
I couldn't look away as her mind shut down when his hands gripped her chest painfully.
I couldn't look away as I heard the rip of her dress like nails on a chalkboard.
But I did look away when I heard alarms going off as a loud thumping grew closer. I looked away knowing that whatever it was, was stopping the sick man from raping June.
Within seconds, the doors flew open and if werewolves were angels, three avenging angels snarled at the men.
The largest one was white. It was Everette.
She, Penelope and Charlotte put Charlie's angels to shame.
Everette had her eyes dead set on thing #1 above a half-naked June, but Pen took the leap and immediately ripped into the man as if she was feasting on his intestines and organs. Everette and Charlotte took down the other two and I felt sweet relief when Ev killed that Lorenzo or Leroy or whatever his fucking name was.
I felt movement next to me and saw Olly was closer to my cage and his eyes held wonder as he looked at the wolves.
"Who are they?" He finally spoke up.
"My mate and our pack," I answered proudly.
At the sound of my voice, Everette's wolf head looked up and I couldn't understand from her eyes what she was feeling.
But me? I felt like someone just told me I found the cure for cancer, won the lottery and achieved world peace. I felt euphoric as I stared into her familiar eyes and got my heartbeat back.
Something was missing though. There used to be an undercurrent of emotions that I felt which heightened everything around me when she was around, which connected us to a certain extent. The mate bond.
I couldn't feel the mate bond between us.
Not knowing if it was my broken ribs or that information, but it felt like a sucker punch worse than when thing #1 hit me.
I didn't know what to make of this or how it was possible but as she came closer, it didn't matter to me.
And as she shifted and pulled on the t-shirt strapped to her leg, I knew it didn't matter to her either.
Without a word, she untied something from her other leg and said, "Tell me the one that hurt you and I'll them pay, I swear to you that I'll make them suffer."
I shook my head as I looked at the already mutilated bodies of the three rogues and as she looked down at them, her expression hardened.
Without a word, she used her bare hands to rip open the door on the cage and break my cuffs. I knew it had to cause her pain but she didn't even flinch as she crawled towards me.
I saw the pain in her eyes. The regret, the hurt, the guilt. I saw unshed tears and I wanted to wrap her in my arms but I couldn't even move them.
"P-princess." I stuttered as I breathed her in.
Her hands came up to my face and a look of horror flashed across her features, "Cal..."
"I'm okay." I tried to assure her, "You know me, doing my thing like a chicken wing."
A laugh bubbled up from her and it felt like a warm ray of sunshine. "You need to stop saying that."
I couldn't help the smile on my face. "Never."
Her hands reached to the necklace around my neck and she ripped it off before throwing it behind her.
She breathed me in and a jolt passed through me as I felt a part of me being weaved back into place.
My eyebrows crinkled in confusion as she saw that, "I'll explain later. We need to get out of here."
She was right. As I looked behind her, I saw Penelope had June clothed and cradled, without the black stone necklace, in her arms while the others were taking on the swarm of rogues.
"We need to take Olly." I told her as she pulled me out of my cage with ease.
"Who?"
I nodded towards the little boy and she understood what I said immediately as she went to his cage and opened it up.
Leaning against the cage, I felt a presence beside me and saw a wolf propping me up. It was Max.
Olly hesitantly exited his cage but he came to my side immediately once he was out.
The doors behind Everette opened and I felt my heart sink as I saw a rogue opened his mouth only inches away from Everette's neck.
By some miracle, Finn's wolf flew past us and killed the wolf just as it's canine brushed across Ev's shoulder and left a scratch.
I think may actually be thankful for Finn. Who would have thought?
Almost losing her enough times to last a lifetime, I struggled over to her side as she wrapped a strong arm around me.
"I need to get you out of here," I whispered to her.
She snorted but agreed as Max helped me while she and the others battled our way through the building.
There were a lot of rogues but surprisingly not as many as I had assumed had been here from the way they spoke.
It was bloody and I knew we lost a few wolves, but the moment we crawled down the three stories of the concrete building and made it into the sunlight, I blacked out against Everette as the pain became unbearable from all the moving.
A/N
Chapter Update: Sunday-ish?
If Cal and Ev could be represented, it's that gif with Jon Snow and Ghost 🤣🤣🤣
Also, they're alive!!!!! And found! Read all the theories and all I can say is, my cruelty will come later on in the story so save them tissues. 😭
Know it was kinda hazy at the end but from Callum's POV he couldn't really manage to articulate what was happening because he's BROKEN 👀 (you know you love the eyes)
I know it's kinda cliff hanger-y but not really? I was going to make this 1 chapter into 2 and make you all wait longer but 1) I didn't want to make you all wait that long and 2) I don't have the time right now to finish to another chapter for a double update. So you're all speered! Yay! 🎉
More info and Ev's journey next chapter as it will be our regularly scheduled Ev's POV from now on (idk if I have any plans for more Cal's POV, especially since we don't know if he's okay...)
Next chapter we'll know Ev's next move and it's about to be goooood!!!
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-Shania. 🐾